Coordinator Reinstated To Magnet Post

Parents Applaud School Chief's Move

HARTFORD — In an about-face that is being applauded by some Hartford parents, the city's schools chief has reinstated the coordinator of the highly praised classical magnet program.

The coordinator's job, held by Robert Keefe, had been eliminated as part of a long-planned reorganization of school administrators that took effect a month ago. Keefe was reassigned to a classroom teaching job.

But after parents complained that the classical program would languish without a coordinator, Superintendent Anthony S. Amato decided to reinstate the job, with some changes in duties, and allow Keefe to continue in it.

``The superintendent felt that given the importance of the classical magnet program, it would be best to minimize the effect of the changes taking place in the central office on the program,'' said Matt Losak, a spokesman for the school system.

Keefe, who went back to work Thursday, said he was ``glad to be back. My only concern is that we wasted a month'' of planning for next year, while the program lacked a coordinator.

Although Keefe will remain in charge of the classical program, he will no longer oversee other interdistrict programs, as he had in the past. School officials said they were negotiating the terms of Keefe's new job, including the person to whom he would report.

Parent leader Hyacinth Yennie, who had lobbied for reinstating a coordinator, said she was ``relieved that someone's back in charge of the program. It's a great victory for parents.''

Some parents and teachers had worried that the program would be shifted to an administrator with numerous other duties. The program, which offers accelerated instruction in literature, Latin and other subjects, is based at Quirk Middle School, but has branches at five elementary schools and Hartford Public High School.

Keefe's reassignment is one of several changes being made to the original reorganization plan, which was initiated by Amato's predecessor, Matthew Borrelli.

Among the other administrators whose duties are being changed is Frank DeLoreto, director of adult and alternative education, who was initially shifted to coordinator of adult education. Now, DeLoreto has been reassigned as coordinator of career readiness, guidance and attendance.

Also, Cynthia James, formerly the district's literacy coordinator, has been shifted into a vice principal's job at Kennelly School. She was initially moved into a special education job.

Amado Cruz, coordinator of dropout programs, had been assigned as Kennelly's vice principal, but is on a medical leave, officials said.

Losak said other reassignments are possible in the coming weeks, as Amato fine-tunes the reorganization plan. The administrators' union has contested some of the initial reassignments, which displaced 17 top administrators.

Quirk's classical magnet program is slated to expand in September. When Keefe was bumped to a teaching job, some parents contended that he was being wrongly blamed for a letter sent to 80 incoming students, saying Quirk was scaling back the program's enrollment because of a shortage of classroom space. Program employees have said Keefe was acting only on what other administrators had told him, not on his own initiative.